London

When Tom came to visit me in Canadialand, we rented bikes three times over the span of 9 days: once in Toronto, once in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and once on Beausoleil Island. I knew that he really liked to cycle around places so I thought it would be fun for him – but I realized after that…

I won’t be the only person to tell you that riding the London Eye is overrated. Regardless, three million people ride the London Eye every year – three million! They can’t all be wrong… But do you really want to be like three million other people? No – you’re unique, you want to do things differently and…

It’s officially safe to talk about Christmas. It’s December, Black Friday has come and gone – as has some strange new addition we’re calling Cyber Monday. Ugh. Consumerism. In my new job, I had to do a lot of research and writing about Christmas markets in Europe for an airline comparison website – picking the…

I love going out to eat – especially if it involves discovering a new place’s food and by nature, its culture. Being new to the UK means that I don’t entirely know what ‘proper English food’ is and – good as my intentions are – I definitely have no idea where to get it, especially…

This is how I did London and the whole experience was so awesome I decided to move there! *** Like all great things, my trip to London began on a whim. I booked my flight on Saturday and was off to the UK on Tuesday’s red-eye. I wasn’t expecting a vacation so my flight of…

Warning: Technically, all of this is true. Unless you’re talking to my mom, in which case this is a product of my imagination. Pure and utter fiction… *** It was a Saturday in June and I was on rooftop bar in Camden with a group of Tom’s friends and acquaintances. One of his old school…

Tate Modern Artist Alfredo Jaar believes that society has been inundated by images and has resulted in a disengagement with the subject of the images. In short, we just don’t get the message anymore. As a consequence of this overproduction of visual icons, we are blind, unable to connect emotionally with images. Furthermore, the images…

5 June 1989. Beijing. Student-led protests in Tiananmen Square are suppressed by military force; tanks are driven through the Square, shots are fired and the number of people killed is still unclear. One man carrying shopping bags stands in front of a column of these tanks, refusing to let them pass. The photo of this…

Ignoring the jet lag, I skipped out of the house at 9:30 to use Frommer’s “Iconic London” suggested itinerary for visiting the typical tourist sites. Frommer’s lays out a plan thus: Start: Tube to Westminster. Begin your tour with one of the country’s most potent icons… As you emerge from Westminster Abbey, you confront the…

Who am I?

I’m Alyssa — Anthropologist and Freelance Writer based in London and Barcelona! I write about Travel and Social Justice. Staff writer for TravelMag.com. Words in MSN, Bustle, the Globe and Mail, Porthole Cruise Magazine, Matador Network, and more.